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Crítica de la Modernidad
Después de pasar revista al triunfo y la caída de la concepción clásica de la modernidad, Touraine la desliga de la tradición histórica que la reduce a la razón; introduce el tema del sujeto y la subjetividad, y se pregunta cómo crear mediaciones entre economía, cultura, libertad, sujeto y razón en el intento de que estas figuras hablen entre sí.
392 pages, Paperback
First published September 23, 1992
About the author
Alain Touraine
110 books80 followersAlain Touraine is a French sociologist. He is research director at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, where he founded the Centre d'étude des mouvements sociaux (see also Daniel Bertaux). He is best known for being the originator of the term "post-industrial society". His work is based on a "sociology of action," and believes that society shapes its future through structural mechanisms and its own social struggles. Touraine defined historicity as the capability of a society to take action upon itself, see The Self-Production of Society (1977).
His key interest for most of his career has been with social movements. He has studied and written extensively on workers' movements across the world, particularly in Latin America and more recently in Poland where he observed and aided the birth of Solidarnosc (Solidarity), see Solidarity: The Analysis of a Social Movement (1983). While in Poland, he developed the research method of "Sociological Intervention," which had been outlined in "The Voice and the Eye" (La Voix et le Regard) [1981].
Touraine has gained immense popularity in Latin America as well as in continental Europe. Yet he has failed to gain anywhere near the same recognition in the English-speaking world. Out of twenty or so books, only about half of them have been translated into English.
He participated in 1969 at MoMA's Universitas project organized by Argentine architect Emilio Ambasz. In 2010, he was jointly awarded, with Zygmunt Bauman, the Príncipe de Asturias Prize for Communication and the Humanities.
His key interest for most of his career has been with social movements. He has studied and written extensively on workers' movements across the world, particularly in Latin America and more recently in Poland where he observed and aided the birth of Solidarnosc (Solidarity), see Solidarity: The Analysis of a Social Movement (1983). While in Poland, he developed the research method of "Sociological Intervention," which had been outlined in "The Voice and the Eye" (La Voix et le Regard) [1981].
Touraine has gained immense popularity in Latin America as well as in continental Europe. Yet he has failed to gain anywhere near the same recognition in the English-speaking world. Out of twenty or so books, only about half of them have been translated into English.
He participated in 1969 at MoMA's Universitas project organized by Argentine architect Emilio Ambasz. In 2010, he was jointly awarded, with Zygmunt Bauman, the Príncipe de Asturias Prize for Communication and the Humanities.
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August 14, 2018كتاب مبهر من أهم علماء الإجتماع " الآن تورين " عن مفهوم الحداثة المناقض لمبدأ الدين فيعطي للخير و الشر أساس اجتماعي فقط ليس ديني أو سيكولوجي. معتمدا علي أن فكرة أن الخير هو ما ينفع المجتمع والشر هو ما يؤذيه، فيحل هنا المجتمع محل السلطة الإلهية كأساس للحكم الأخلاقي، و ينتقل بذلك المجتمع من ظاهرة للدراسة و التفسير إلي محرك أساسي و مشرع لقوانين جديدة الإنسانية تسير وفق " الإرادة العامة " أو "العقل الجمعي".
مثلا حينما أعجب ميكافيللي بنضال مواطني فلورنسا ضد البابا حيث وضعوا حبهم للمدينة فوق خوفهم علي سعادتهم الأبدية.
تناول ذلك المفهوم بما له و ما عليه يحدد مفهوم التنمية و القوميات و أسسس بناء المجتمع بطريقة سردية بسيطة و شيقة جدا.
مثلا حينما أعجب ميكافيللي بنضال مواطني فلورنسا ضد البابا حيث وضعوا حبهم للمدينة فوق خوفهم علي سعادتهم الأبدية.
تناول ذلك المفهوم بما له و ما عليه يحدد مفهوم التنمية و القوميات و أسسس بناء المجتمع بطريقة سردية بسيطة و شيقة جدا.
March 21, 2020
جميل وممتع جداً ، استمتعت جداُ في قراءته، لاهتمامي بالموضوع المطروح، ولجمالية المادة وقيمتها العلمية وللموضوعية في الطرح والتقديم والإحاطة الشاملة بالموضوع، ولصعوبة الكتاب، في متعة بصعوبة الكتاب وفهمه، والمراجعة تحتاج تأني ودراسة ووقت، وهو ما سيكون على رأس القائمة في الأيام القادمة إن شاء الله.
June 4, 2025
Alain Touraine’s Critique of Modernity (originally Critique de la modernité, 1992) represents a significant intervention in contemporary social theory, offering a sustained and ambitious attempt to re-evaluate the legacy of modernity in the wake of its political, cultural, and epistemological crises. Known for his sociological analyses of post-industrial society and social movements, Touraine in this work seeks to move beyond both the celebratory narratives of Enlightenment rationality and the skeptical critiques characteristic of postmodern thought. Instead, he offers what might be termed a “reconstructed modernity,” one grounded not in instrumental reason or universal progress, but in the ethical centrality of the subject.
Touraine’s central argument is that modernity, historically tied to the rise of reason, science, and individual rights, has undergone a profound transformation. The confidence in universal norms and historical progress has given way to fragmentation, identity politics, and a deep sense of disorientation. While postmodern thinkers such as Jean-François Lyotard or Michel Foucault have interpreted this as the exhaustion or death of modernity, Touraine insists that what is required is not abandonment, but critique and renewal. In his view, modernity must be reconceptualized around the defense of the subject—defined as the capacity of individuals to act, reflect, and create meaning in opposition to social domination and cultural homogenization.
Touraine rejects both sociological positivism and anti-foundationalist relativism. Instead, he constructs his critique on a humanistic and reflexive basis, influenced by hermeneutics and critical theory. He is particularly attentive to the contradictions within modernity itself: the tension between rationalization and emancipation, between systemic integration and personal autonomy. He draws on the thought of Hegel, Marx, and Freud, but his project resonates most closely with Habermasian critical theory, albeit with greater emphasis on subjectivity and cultural resistance.
A major contribution of the book lies in its treatment of the “subject” not as an abstract philosophical category but as a sociologically grounded agent struggling within fields of domination and meaning. Touraine reorients the discussion of modernity away from institutional forms and toward lived experience, ethical agency, and the construction of identity. In doing so, he engages with debates surrounding multiculturalism, feminism, and postcolonialism, arguing that the defense of the subject can serve as a common ethical ground amidst pluralism and difference.
Despite its strengths, Critique of Modernity is not without its difficulties. The prose is dense and often abstract, occasionally obscuring rather than clarifying its theoretical insights. Moreover, while Touraine’s commitment to the subject is admirable, critics may question whether this notion, however ethically potent, is sufficient to ground a normative critique of contemporary capitalism or to offer a concrete political program. Additionally, his dismissal of postmodernism, while nuanced, at times fails to adequately engage with the productive dimensions of poststructuralist thought, particularly in its critique of power and normativity.
Nevertheless, Critique of Modernity is a bold and thoughtful work that challenges both the complacency of technocratic modernism and the nihilism of postmodern relativism. Touraine’s reconstruction of modernity through the lens of the subject offers a compelling ethical and sociological vision for late modern societies struggling with fragmentation and crisis. For scholars of sociology, political theory, and cultural studies, the book remains a significant and provocative resource for thinking through the dilemmas of our time.
GPT
Touraine’s central argument is that modernity, historically tied to the rise of reason, science, and individual rights, has undergone a profound transformation. The confidence in universal norms and historical progress has given way to fragmentation, identity politics, and a deep sense of disorientation. While postmodern thinkers such as Jean-François Lyotard or Michel Foucault have interpreted this as the exhaustion or death of modernity, Touraine insists that what is required is not abandonment, but critique and renewal. In his view, modernity must be reconceptualized around the defense of the subject—defined as the capacity of individuals to act, reflect, and create meaning in opposition to social domination and cultural homogenization.
Touraine rejects both sociological positivism and anti-foundationalist relativism. Instead, he constructs his critique on a humanistic and reflexive basis, influenced by hermeneutics and critical theory. He is particularly attentive to the contradictions within modernity itself: the tension between rationalization and emancipation, between systemic integration and personal autonomy. He draws on the thought of Hegel, Marx, and Freud, but his project resonates most closely with Habermasian critical theory, albeit with greater emphasis on subjectivity and cultural resistance.
A major contribution of the book lies in its treatment of the “subject” not as an abstract philosophical category but as a sociologically grounded agent struggling within fields of domination and meaning. Touraine reorients the discussion of modernity away from institutional forms and toward lived experience, ethical agency, and the construction of identity. In doing so, he engages with debates surrounding multiculturalism, feminism, and postcolonialism, arguing that the defense of the subject can serve as a common ethical ground amidst pluralism and difference.
Despite its strengths, Critique of Modernity is not without its difficulties. The prose is dense and often abstract, occasionally obscuring rather than clarifying its theoretical insights. Moreover, while Touraine’s commitment to the subject is admirable, critics may question whether this notion, however ethically potent, is sufficient to ground a normative critique of contemporary capitalism or to offer a concrete political program. Additionally, his dismissal of postmodernism, while nuanced, at times fails to adequately engage with the productive dimensions of poststructuralist thought, particularly in its critique of power and normativity.
Nevertheless, Critique of Modernity is a bold and thoughtful work that challenges both the complacency of technocratic modernism and the nihilism of postmodern relativism. Touraine’s reconstruction of modernity through the lens of the subject offers a compelling ethical and sociological vision for late modern societies struggling with fragmentation and crisis. For scholars of sociology, political theory, and cultural studies, the book remains a significant and provocative resource for thinking through the dilemmas of our time.
GPT
October 28, 2012
Un imprescindible para entender el cosmos social.
July 14, 2020
One of the most challenging books not only for long complex sentences with its not-easily-digested language but writer's own style to approach the theoretical themes as well. With its up-to-date potential strategy - where the man becomes a hero again - the book try to tackle all the obstacles coming from left and right wing policies. Probably we really need to look beyond good/bad dichotomy through anti-modernist tendencies (with help of, like in book, Nietzsche and Freud) to make transparent political-social vision about society we live in.
October 16, 2024
Cuqui porque en su momento sí me gustó Daniel Bell, aunque de pronto era un poquitín oldfashioned; como esos libros para aprender inglés con ilustraciones setenteras: con hombreras, fijador y Piet Mondrian.
January 10, 2008
Not an easy read. Translated from French.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews